It isn’t uncommon for purveyors of entertainment to experience a level of frustration with the occasional book, novel, or television program.
Often times, audiences are expected to sift through a great deal of set-up, not all of it entirely necessary. There are characters to be introduced. There are places to be set. There are circumstances and/or relationships that need to be clarified and/or set into motion. Along this treacherous path, breadcrumbs are typically laid as a kinda/sorta latent foreshadowing of things to come; so we’re additionally tasked with both catching and retaining such nuggets of information that we alone feel might be relevant for something that’s going to transpire later in the journey. Granted, we don’t always know what those developments might be, and yet that can be the ultimate reward: that measure of ambiguity often leads to some of the screen’s best and biggest surprises, and I think each of us treasures a good reveal as much as the next person.
Regardless, the quality of the formula varies widely based on the skills of the storyteller. In fact, I think a great many writers and directors get a bit bogged down in trying to stick too closely to administering what they feel is required of the respective genre they’re working in. Attached perhaps too closely to a particular script or their own reputations, they go to great lengths to ensure that A, B, C, and D are properly laid out or at least laid out so well that E, F, G, and H make perfect sense when they occur. I’ve been told that there are a great many bodies in motion in the making of any production, so I believe that all of these levers are sometimes a bit too much for even the most accomplished professional.
Perhaps that’s why a film like Torso (1973) – a very, very, very good feature once it inevitably finds its central story – might come across as a bit confusing or downright uninteresting with its somewhat extensive set-up. Audiences are given a number of faces and a small parade of circumstances that suggest they’re in store for a basic criminal procedural when the truth is that director Sergio Martino had something a bit more waiting in the wings for them. Once he gets there, Torso is a wild experience, indeed … but I thought the first half was a bit of a slog for reasons that’ll become clear shortly.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
Often times, audiences are expected to sift through a great deal of set-up, not all of it entirely necessary. There are characters to be introduced. There are places to be set. There are circumstances and/or relationships that need to be clarified and/or set into motion. Along this treacherous path, breadcrumbs are typically laid as a kinda/sorta latent foreshadowing of things to come; so we’re additionally tasked with both catching and retaining such nuggets of information that we alone feel might be relevant for something that’s going to transpire later in the journey. Granted, we don’t always know what those developments might be, and yet that can be the ultimate reward: that measure of ambiguity often leads to some of the screen’s best and biggest surprises, and I think each of us treasures a good reveal as much as the next person.
Regardless, the quality of the formula varies widely based on the skills of the storyteller. In fact, I think a great many writers and directors get a bit bogged down in trying to stick too closely to administering what they feel is required of the respective genre they’re working in. Attached perhaps too closely to a particular script or their own reputations, they go to great lengths to ensure that A, B, C, and D are properly laid out or at least laid out so well that E, F, G, and H make perfect sense when they occur. I’ve been told that there are a great many bodies in motion in the making of any production, so I believe that all of these levers are sometimes a bit too much for even the most accomplished professional.
Perhaps that’s why a film like Torso (1973) – a very, very, very good feature once it inevitably finds its central story – might come across as a bit confusing or downright uninteresting with its somewhat extensive set-up. Audiences are given a number of faces and a small parade of circumstances that suggest they’re in store for a basic criminal procedural when the truth is that director Sergio Martino had something a bit more waiting in the wings for them. Once he gets there, Torso is a wild experience, indeed … but I thought the first half was a bit of a slog for reasons that’ll become clear shortly.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Someone is strangling coeds in Perugia. The only clue is that the killer owns a red and black scarf, and police are stumped. American exchange student Jane and her friends decide to take a break from classes by going up to Danielle's uncle's villa in the country. Unfortunately, the killer decides to follow, and the women begin suffering a rapid attrition problem.”
Any film emerging under the name Torso and known to be a Giallo – that subgenre dedicated to spinning murder mysteries usually with buckets of blood to spare – might seem like a scary prospect to some. Generally speaking, I’d agree. Though I’m a fan of Horror as a species all of its own, I’ve had mixed feelings about a lot of the Giallos I’ve watched: some have been a bit confusing, some have been disappointing, and some have been not worth their respective hype. The promise and the delivery vary widely, so I tend to stick with just the big names with known histories when seeking out something entirely on my own.
Yet, Torso was a wonderful surprise, mostly because writer/director Martino clearly had an idea for a story he wanted to tell. The problem, however, is that you have to wait quite a bit before you get to it.
In the film’s first half, we’re introduced to a bevy of good-looking young(ish) art students who are a bunch of those post-1960’s free love beatniks who live their lives without seemingly a care in the world except for where their next ‘good time’ is coming from. Dani (Tina Aumont) can’t seem to shake the unwanted affections of a lifelong admirer Stefano (Roberto Bisacco) even though she seems perfect accepting of her amorous uncle’s somewhat aged charms. Flo (Patrizia Adiutori) justs wants to be wonderfully felt-up by her young male lover. Carol (Conchita Airoldi) can’t choose between the various men coming on to her, making her surprisingly aloof to carnal passions in the slightest. Then there’s Jane (Suzy Kendall), the American girl studying abroad who is developing affections for her art teacher Franz (John Richardson).
All of this struggle for attention falls apart once Flo and Carol (and a few minor others) fall prey to the machinations of a serial killer who seems curiously focused on this special group of friends. Why, if only the police were any good at their jobs, then perhaps it could all of this deviousness could come to an end!
“Someone is strangling coeds in Perugia. The only clue is that the killer owns a red and black scarf, and police are stumped. American exchange student Jane and her friends decide to take a break from classes by going up to Danielle's uncle's villa in the country. Unfortunately, the killer decides to follow, and the women begin suffering a rapid attrition problem.”
Any film emerging under the name Torso and known to be a Giallo – that subgenre dedicated to spinning murder mysteries usually with buckets of blood to spare – might seem like a scary prospect to some. Generally speaking, I’d agree. Though I’m a fan of Horror as a species all of its own, I’ve had mixed feelings about a lot of the Giallos I’ve watched: some have been a bit confusing, some have been disappointing, and some have been not worth their respective hype. The promise and the delivery vary widely, so I tend to stick with just the big names with known histories when seeking out something entirely on my own.
Yet, Torso was a wonderful surprise, mostly because writer/director Martino clearly had an idea for a story he wanted to tell. The problem, however, is that you have to wait quite a bit before you get to it.
In the film’s first half, we’re introduced to a bevy of good-looking young(ish) art students who are a bunch of those post-1960’s free love beatniks who live their lives without seemingly a care in the world except for where their next ‘good time’ is coming from. Dani (Tina Aumont) can’t seem to shake the unwanted affections of a lifelong admirer Stefano (Roberto Bisacco) even though she seems perfect accepting of her amorous uncle’s somewhat aged charms. Flo (Patrizia Adiutori) justs wants to be wonderfully felt-up by her young male lover. Carol (Conchita Airoldi) can’t choose between the various men coming on to her, making her surprisingly aloof to carnal passions in the slightest. Then there’s Jane (Suzy Kendall), the American girl studying abroad who is developing affections for her art teacher Franz (John Richardson).
All of this struggle for attention falls apart once Flo and Carol (and a few minor others) fall prey to the machinations of a serial killer who seems curiously focused on this special group of friends. Why, if only the police were any good at their jobs, then perhaps it could all of this deviousness could come to an end!
Despite some mild interest here and there, this protracted set-up for Torso is a bit tiring. It isn’t that it Martino and Ernesto Gastaldi’s script is poorly or predictably written; rather it’s that it’s all delivered with far too much feigned melodrama for it to seem authentic. I’ve read that Italian cinema in general suffered through some spells here and there wherein dialogue and characterization were a bit of a throwback to simply storytelling – much the conventional theatrical dramas of the U.S. in the 1940’s and 1950’s – and that seems to be the case here. Even though all of this is meant to make me care a bit more about this rather bland assortment of players, it just doesn’t work, almost to the point wherein I wished the killer would step-up and get busy with expressing his various psychoses sooner.
What slowly develops, though, is the fact that all of this slumming in the big Italian city was little more than some prolonged set-up, making me feel that what Martino really wanted to apply his skills as a director was to the second half.
Distraught over the loss of two of their cliché, these young coeds with their perfectly sculpted bodies are beside themselves with grief. Eventually, Uncle Nino (Carlo Alighiero) suggests that the ladies go away for a few days to his mountain villa to blow off a bit of steam on his dime … and this is where Torso shifts into a gear worth the delay. Mind you, there’s a little additional set-up required once the transition takes place; but –once it does – audiences find themselves suddenly in the midst of what might be one of the quintessential slasher films worthy of academic study.
Longtime readers of SciFiHistory.Net might know that I’m not all that enamored with conventional Horror of this variety; and I’ve often stated that the reason is that far too many basic slasher entries spend too much time in both lazy writing, God-awful characterization, and too much bloodletting. Frankly, there’s so little story in them that I find myself zoning out, wondering pointless things like ‘I wonder why costuming thought that would be a good look for something who basically looses her head in the second scene?’ If the project is unfocused, then I tend to follow suit. So I always give props to those of you who champion these films because they are their own unique animal.
Still, Torso excels winningly.
Granted, Martino’s pacing could’ve been sped up a bit here and there – he gets rather involved with long, intricate sequences but thankfully makes the wait worthwhile with solid payoffs – but under his stewardship the nubile Jane becomes one of filmdom’s first ‘Last Girls,’ those relentlessly spirited females who face some of Horror’s darkest, dimmest odds and manage to survive where others perished. Kendall gives a great and grounded performance in this second half, equal parts grim and gutsy, and I’m surprised I haven’t heard more of her career as a consequence. Was she too plucky for the screen? Was she not plucky enough? Granted, I think it’s an understated sexuality here that makes her work so appealing – Torso never takes the easy way out with its sex and violence, and that’s honestly to be commended – but I’m still a bit astonished that this didn’t lead to her being in increased demand.
What slowly develops, though, is the fact that all of this slumming in the big Italian city was little more than some prolonged set-up, making me feel that what Martino really wanted to apply his skills as a director was to the second half.
Distraught over the loss of two of their cliché, these young coeds with their perfectly sculpted bodies are beside themselves with grief. Eventually, Uncle Nino (Carlo Alighiero) suggests that the ladies go away for a few days to his mountain villa to blow off a bit of steam on his dime … and this is where Torso shifts into a gear worth the delay. Mind you, there’s a little additional set-up required once the transition takes place; but –once it does – audiences find themselves suddenly in the midst of what might be one of the quintessential slasher films worthy of academic study.
Longtime readers of SciFiHistory.Net might know that I’m not all that enamored with conventional Horror of this variety; and I’ve often stated that the reason is that far too many basic slasher entries spend too much time in both lazy writing, God-awful characterization, and too much bloodletting. Frankly, there’s so little story in them that I find myself zoning out, wondering pointless things like ‘I wonder why costuming thought that would be a good look for something who basically looses her head in the second scene?’ If the project is unfocused, then I tend to follow suit. So I always give props to those of you who champion these films because they are their own unique animal.
Still, Torso excels winningly.
Granted, Martino’s pacing could’ve been sped up a bit here and there – he gets rather involved with long, intricate sequences but thankfully makes the wait worthwhile with solid payoffs – but under his stewardship the nubile Jane becomes one of filmdom’s first ‘Last Girls,’ those relentlessly spirited females who face some of Horror’s darkest, dimmest odds and manage to survive where others perished. Kendall gives a great and grounded performance in this second half, equal parts grim and gutsy, and I’m surprised I haven’t heard more of her career as a consequence. Was she too plucky for the screen? Was she not plucky enough? Granted, I think it’s an understated sexuality here that makes her work so appealing – Torso never takes the easy way out with its sex and violence, and that’s honestly to be commended – but I’m still a bit astonished that this didn’t lead to her being in increased demand.
Ah, well …
Perhaps the lady aspired to other heights, as her IMDB.com profile suggests she all but disappeared in the late 1970’s.
Otherwise, Torso never quite shrugged off feeling very much like it was two different films trying to come together as one whole. Though I like whodunnits, there’s not nearly the amount of clues or enough connective tissue left to make this one worth the attempt. (The guilty culprit is known, and there are still enough strategically placed alternatives to keep his identity concealed.) The melodrama of its players – a lukewarm grounding in forced human drama played a bit too overwrought to be taken seriously – might have some struggling with where it all begins, but I encourage those of you who exist in an orbit where Horror and Slasher projects are still worthwhile to hang with it. That second half is exceptional.
Torso (1973) was produced by Compagnia Cinematografica Champion. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been handled by the fine folks at Arrow Films. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the provided sights-and-sounds to be exceptional. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Arrow never disappoints, and the disc is loaded with some solid shorts, interviews, an audio commentary, and a few more little bits. It’s a fabulous collection, one any fan should be thrilled to explore.
Strongly recommended.
While I’m not one of Giallo’s biggest cheerleaders, Torso (1973) – in its second half – truly won me over. I still have some minor quibbles with the rather slim story and maybe even a few of the slightly wooden performances, but once this flick establishes the story writer/director Martino probably wanted to tell it’s a well-constructed Hitchcockian or De Palma-style thriller. Furthermore, that second half is, arguably, propelled by some fabulous cinematography. Like most Giallos, don’t try to figure it out or guess the whodunnit as far too many of the backstories are obscured; just sit back and let the later reels sizzle the way only a master storyteller could deliver.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray copy of Torso (1973) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Perhaps the lady aspired to other heights, as her IMDB.com profile suggests she all but disappeared in the late 1970’s.
Otherwise, Torso never quite shrugged off feeling very much like it was two different films trying to come together as one whole. Though I like whodunnits, there’s not nearly the amount of clues or enough connective tissue left to make this one worth the attempt. (The guilty culprit is known, and there are still enough strategically placed alternatives to keep his identity concealed.) The melodrama of its players – a lukewarm grounding in forced human drama played a bit too overwrought to be taken seriously – might have some struggling with where it all begins, but I encourage those of you who exist in an orbit where Horror and Slasher projects are still worthwhile to hang with it. That second half is exceptional.
Torso (1973) was produced by Compagnia Cinematografica Champion. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been handled by the fine folks at Arrow Films. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the provided sights-and-sounds to be exceptional. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Arrow never disappoints, and the disc is loaded with some solid shorts, interviews, an audio commentary, and a few more little bits. It’s a fabulous collection, one any fan should be thrilled to explore.
Strongly recommended.
While I’m not one of Giallo’s biggest cheerleaders, Torso (1973) – in its second half – truly won me over. I still have some minor quibbles with the rather slim story and maybe even a few of the slightly wooden performances, but once this flick establishes the story writer/director Martino probably wanted to tell it’s a well-constructed Hitchcockian or De Palma-style thriller. Furthermore, that second half is, arguably, propelled by some fabulous cinematography. Like most Giallos, don’t try to figure it out or guess the whodunnit as far too many of the backstories are obscured; just sit back and let the later reels sizzle the way only a master storyteller could deliver.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray copy of Torso (1973) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
RSS Feed